Far from being a melting pot, multi-racial Singapore prides itself on the richness of its ethnic communities and cultures. This volume provides an updated account of the heterogeneity within each of the main communities — the Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian and Others. It also documents the ethnic cultures of these communities by discussing their histories, celebrations, cultural symbols, life cycle rituals, cultural icons and attempts to preserve culture. While chapters are written by scholars drawing insight from a variety of sources ranging from academic publications to discussions with community experts, it is written in an accessible way. This volume seeks to increase intercultural understanding through presenting ample insights into the cultural beliefs and practices of the different ethnic communities. While this book is about diversity, a closer examination of the peoples and cultures of Singapore demonstrates the many similarities communities share in this Singaporean space. Contents: Foreword (Janil Puthucheary)AcknowledgementsIntroductory: Ethnic Diversity, Identity and Everyday Multiculturalism in Singapore (Mathew Mathews)Chinese: The Chinese in Singapore (Tong Chee Kiong)Chinese Community and Culture in Singapore (Soon Su-Chuin, Elvin Xing Yifu and Tong Chee Kiong)Malay: The Malays in Singapore (Suriani Suratman)Malay Community and Culture in Singapore (Suriani Suratman and Siti Hajar Esa)Indian: The Indians in Singapore (Vineeta Sinha)Tamil Community and Culture in Singapore (A Mani, Pravin Prakash and Shanthini Selvarajan)Malayalee Community and Culture in Singapore (Anitha Devi Pillai)Punjabi Sikh Community and Culture in Singapore (Amrit Kaur and Bhajan Singh)Gujerati Community and Culture in Singapore (Rizwana Abdul Azeez)Minority Indian communities in Singapore (Nilanjan Raghunath)Eurasians and Others: The Eurasians and Others in Singapore (Mathew Mathews)Eurasian Community and Culture in Singapore (Alexius Pereira)Filipino Community and Culture in Singapore (Lou Antolihao and Clement Mesenas)Myanmar Community and Culture in Singapore (Moe Thuzar and Christine Lim Li Ping) Readership: Student and researchers of Singapore society and general readers interested in Singapore and its ethnic culture. Keywords: Ethnic Diversity;Culture;Customs;Traditions;Heritage;Singaporean Chinese;Singaporean Malays;Singaporean Indians;Singaporean EurasiansReview:0

Ethnic tensions in Southeast Asia represent a clear threat to the future stability of the region. David Brown's clear and systematic study outlines the patterns of ethnic politics in: * Burma * Singapore * Indonesia * Malaysia * Thailand The study considers the influence of the State on the formation of ethnic groups and investigates why some countries are more successful in 'managing' their ethnic politics than others.

This book presents insights on Singapore's economy and society from leading thinkers, based on selected commentaries from Singapore Perspectives conference series co-published by Institute of Policy Studies and World Scientific. Contributed by the who's who of Singapore's government, business and academia circles, they provide diverse viewpoints over economic transformation, globalisation and regionalism, national identity, emerging group differences, ageing, among other important issues.Is the government's growth-at-all-costs policy the most effective for Singapore? Can Singapore advance as a regional hub? Is Singapore a permanent magnet for foreign talent or a transnational revolving door? What is the Singapore Spirit? Are Singaporeans willing to invest their ambition and future in Singapore? What can Singapore do to prepare for an ageing population? This volume explores a range of possible answers to these questions and more.

Singapore Eurasians: Memories, Hopes and Dreams offers insight into the Singapore Eurasian community, one of Singapore's minority communities. Though small, the Eurasian community has undoubtedly played a big part in Singapore's nation-building. This book is the definitive record of Eurasian history and heritage in Singapore, and serves to educate the younger generation of Eurasians about their roots, the community's achievements and its collective hopes and dreams for the future, as well as provide a useful resource for others to learn more about the Eurasian community. In addition, Singapore Eurasians: Memories, Hopes and Dreams also covers the growth and developments of the Eurasian community within the last 25 years, and how the Eurasian Association (EA), as a Self-Help Group since 1994, has been helping the less fortunate through its programmes, as well as being the main force in driving the preservation and sharing of the Eurasian culture for its future generations. In preserving the history and heritage, as well as expressing the hopes and dreams of the Singapore Eurasian community, this book is an effort in contributing to the country's continued multiracial harmony and appreciation of the many elements that make up Singapore's story.

Ethnic minorities historically comprised a solid majority of Bangkok's population. They played a dominant role in the city's exuberant economic and social development. In the shadow of Siam's prideful, flamboyant Thai ruling class, the city's diverse minorities flourished quietly. The Thai-Portuguese; the Mon; the Lao; the Cham, Persian, Indian, Malay, and Indonesian Muslims; and the Taechiu, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainanese, and Cantonese Chinese speech groups were particularly important. Others, such as the Khmer, Vietnamese, Thai Yuan, Sikhs, and Westerners, were smaller in numbers but no less significant in their influence on the city's growth and prosperity. In tracing the social, political, and spatial dynamics of Bangkok's ethnic pluralism through the two-and-a-half centuries of the city's history, this book calls attention to a long-neglected mainspring of Thai urban development. While the book's primary focus is on the first five reigns of the Chakri dynasty (1782-1910), the account extends backward and forward to reveal the continuing impact of Bangkok's ethnic minorities on Thai culture change, within the broader context of Thai development studies. It provides an exciting perspective and unique resource for anyone interested in exploring Bangkok's evolving cultural milieu or Thailand's modern history.

A General History of the Chinese in Singapore documents over 700 years of Chinese history in Singapore, from Chinese presence in the region through the millennium-old Hokkien trading world to the waves of mass migration that came after the establishment of a British settlement, and through to the development and birth of the nation. Across 38 chapters and parts, readers are taken through the complex historical mosaic of Overseas Chinese social, economic and political activity in Singapore and the region, such as the development of maritime junk trade, plantation industries, and coolie labour, the role of different bangs, clan associations and secret societies as well as Chinese leaders, the diverging political allegiances including Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary activities and the National Salvation Movement leading up to the Second World War, the transplanting of traditional Chinese religions, the changing identity of the Overseas Chinese, and the developments in language and education policies, publishing, arts, and more.With 'Pride in our Past, Legacy for our Future' as its key objective, this volume aims to preserve the Singapore Chinese story, history and heritage for future generations, as well as keep our cultures and traditions alive. Therefore, the book aims to serve as a comprehensive guide for Singaporeans, new immigrants and foreigners to have an epitome of the Singapore society. This publication is supported by the National Heritage Board's Heritage Project Grant.Related Link(s)